Then I tried the same mains with Co-Focus crosses and wow, REALLY loved that. In the midst of drilling went back to try the B5E and now in comparison it felt dead.

the gut mains/co-focus crosses is so far the best combo I've yet found. Great spin, very good control, controllable power, excellent touch, and I LOVE the way it feels, and especially how it sounds. Just terrific in my Volkl V1 Classic MP.

Haven't tried Scorpion, but I love the feel of the co-focus. Wow, what a great combo.

Note: as a reference, I strung it at 60/56 on a Neos 1000, double pulling each main and cross per Irvin's video/suggestion for more replicating the results from a constant pull machine.

Keep switching between Co Focus and Scorpion. Damn these German polys, damn them. It's now become like my picking between Scorpion and B5E mains. Each has its own delicious feel. I don't think I tried LT/CoFocus at proper tension, but even now, after settling them in, I think the WT/CoFocus bed is better. The Scorpion gives more control, yes, but I don't know. It just lacks that responsiveness.

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Maybe Classic Touch/Scorpion is the answer! I feel you though; I too am having a terrible time picking between these German polys.

A local guy here actually bought a racquet from a TTW member, and it just so happens that he contacted me for stringing. Guy knew his stuff: wanted to make sure I knew what I was doing. Racquet is a Wilson K90. Strings are WhisperTouch Pro / CoFocus at 52/49. His thoughts after using it:

Hey man, just want to give you my first impressions of the racquet and string set-up. So the K90 strung with our setup is . . . a total spin machine! For one, I think the racquet itself I think is geared more for spin, with the open string pattern, and the way the racquet swings--it really knives through the air. It really has a different feel than the ncode; I've read that the weight distribution is different, and I think the K90 is likely more polarized, which makes for great spin potential and more maneuverability. Granted I haven't played it with another string, but I do know that I was getting a gobs of topspin (and some wicked slice) at club Thursday. I mean balls would look like they were going out and then just dive and kick. This happened a lot. I got a lot of free points and weak balls back this way. It was great! That heavy ball is something I really wanted -- and I think the racquet with this setup work together well to achieve it. And I felt like I had plenty of control -- I could add racquet head speed and the added pace would be complemented with the wicked spin and keep the balls in. It's likely that there are a lot of shots I can pull off with this racquet and set up that I couldn't do as easily before--things like angle shots and approach shots, where that added spin helps. (By the way, hitting one of those high kicking balls to a fellow's backhand makes for a great approach shot!) And I like the feel of the gut -- my sense is that it will really shine up at the net and on precision-type shots hit around the service line. One volley I hit in particular sticks out since it felt great.--I will have to experiment a bit with dampening; the rubberband I was using dampened a bit too much (combined with the low string tension) -- I'll have to find something really lightweight like a rubberband but that allows for more response from the string-bed. But in due time. Just wanted to let you know that I think we've created a heavy ball monster Thanks for your help!

I've flopped back, the WT just feels more lively. The dwell time of the LT is likely what you're noticing, but it's just not the same. the LT racquet will give you more margin of error, but it won't give even remotely close responsiveness. That's why I switched back to WT/CoFocus. After the LT/Scorpion settled, it was just too mushy and felt like a pusher's setup.

I've flopped back, the WT just feels more lively. The dwell time of the LT is likely what you're noticing, but it's just not the same. the LT racquet will give you more margin of error, but it won't give even remotely close responsiveness. That's why I switched back to WT/CoFocus. After the LT/Scorpion settled, it was just too mushy and felt like a pusher's setup.

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OK but can I use the WT at low tensions say at 47 or 50? I haven't tried the Co Focus but I will order some.

PV, how much affect does switching to livelier gut mains have compared to switching to livelier poly crosses?

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The liveliness of the gut is a huge factor, but the poly is also equally huge. Let's take three smooth polys of roughly the same gauge: WC Scorpion, WC Silverstring and MSV CoFocus. The gut mains the same, the MSV cross racquet is going to feel like a cannon compared to the Silverstring. That isn't to say that the MSV has poor control. It's exactly the reason why I love natural gut crosses: it lets you fine tune and get the most out of your mains. Poly crosses let you fine tune and get the most out of your gut. YOu basically get all the standard benefits of gut, but then can make it softer, more powerful, more spinny, more control, crisper, etc.

I think I'm going to give this whisper touch/co-focus stuff a try to see what the hooo-har is all about.

Unfortunately, I don't have either of those strings lying around...though I can probably get some Co-Focus off the Bay.

Of the gut, I do have:-

1. Klip Legend 1.25
2. Performaxx Touch 17
3. VS 16

Which of those would you recommend with Co-Focus in a 98/18x20 (Youtek Prestige MP) and a 95/18x20 (BLX 6.1)?

Is there another poly cross that you would recommend if I can't get hold of Co-Focus. I have a whole load ranging from WC, Tourna, Polyfibre, Lux etc. Is MSV Focus Hex any good? I have some of that lying around, though of course, its a shaped string.

Have to say though I'm still a bit confused by your reviews. In the WT/Scorpion review you say that you were underwelmed and disappointed with the gut mains, but in the WT/Co-Focus review, you rate everything off the scale. Am I missing something?

The liveliness of the gut is a huge factor, but the poly is also equally huge. Let's take three smooth polys of roughly the same gauge: WC Scorpion, WC Silverstring and MSV CoFocus. The gut mains the same, the MSV cross racquet is going to feel like a cannon compared to the Silverstring. That isn't to say that the MSV has poor control. It's exactly the reason why I love natural gut crosses: it lets you fine tune and get the most out of your mains. Poly crosses let you fine tune and get the most out of your gut. YOu basically get all the standard benefits of gut, but then can make it softer, more powerful, more spinny, more control, crisper, etc.

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Thanks, PV. Hmm, I have been using Scorp crosses and am now trying Storm Metal crosses at the same tension and with the same gut (WT). The Metal crosses actually feel pretty similar, but maybe a bit softer (it's hard to tell since I didn't try them head to head). I like the control I'm getting, but it still feels kind of stiff to me sometimes and underpowered for some reason. Any predictions on how WT/Scorp, WT/Co-focus, Classic Touch/Scorp, and Classic Touch/Co-focus would compare?

I think I'm going to give this whisper touch/co-focus stuff a try to see what the hooo-har is all about.

Unfortunately, I don't have either of those strings lying around...though I can probably get some Co-Focus off the Bay.

Of the gut, I do have:-

1. Klip Legend 1.25
2. Performaxx Touch 17
3. VS 16

Which of those would you recommend with Co-Focus in a 98/18x20 (Youtek Prestige MP) and a 95/18x20 (BLX 6.1)?

Is there another poly cross that you would recommend if I can't get hold of Co-Focus. I have a whole load ranging from WC, Tourna, Polyfibre, Lux etc. Is MSV Focus Hex any good? I have some of that lying around, though of course, its a shaped string.

Have to say though I'm still a bit confused by your reviews. In the WT/Scorpion review you say that you were underwelmed and disappointed with the gut mains, but in the WT/Co-Focus review, you rate everything off the scale. Am I missing something?

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No, the poor Scorpion hybrid was with LT strung at too high a tension. The contest then became LT/Scorpion vs. WT/CoFocus. Switching them around makes both worse: CoFocus is just too lively to be used around 40lbs and WT/Scorpion isn't crisp enough.

I didn't feel like going to club tonight, the weather stinks, and I have a bit of sore thought. Anyway I was reading your thread and I was interested in the whisper touch and thunderstring review. Those sound like some pretty good traits to me. I really enjoy the current combo that you strung up, but sometimes when my footwork is not all the way there, the ball goes a bit long. Is thunderstring a multi or a poly, and would you recommend the whisper touch and thunderstring setup for someone like me? We have hit a couple of times, so you kind of know how I play, but I really like to play from the back of the baseline. I would consider myself more of a counterpuncher than a pusher. What do you think?

PS The current setup is still working pretty nice. The poly went dead a while ago, but it is still holding tension fairly well. The gut is shredded, but still holding up. When the footwork is on, I hit such a nice sounding ball. The groundstrokes feel so dominant. If I stay with this setup in the future, I think I might have it strung tighter, to compensate for how powerful the gut is.

No, definitely would not recommend. You know how to make shots, big shot. This is just for the player content with percentage tennis. The guy who doesn't get excited when they hit a great winner or an ace. It's for that sort of person because even when you hit the ball which would otherwise have been a winner because it goes right where you wanted it to and when the other player is in the perfectly wrong position, they still can get to it because there's no weight to it. It's just like feeding balls to different parts of the court. Yeah, you can have superb accuracy, but you're just waiting for someone else's mistake and ONLY that. Think about the guys you probably played in the first to second rounds in tourneys as a junior, the guy who just irritates everyone because he's quick, and puts the ball back where you don't want it, but makes you lose the point instead of him win it? Yeah, he'd love it.

Yeah man, yeah. But you're a Floridian. Florida and Cali junior tourneys aren't like playing as a junior how I did in Indiana. You had competition, and a damn lot of it all of the time. 95% of our tourneys were those kids haha

I am a mix acutely, I was born in California. Never played tennis there, but spent a little bit of time there. In Florida though, I play mostly on clay. Clay is great, because you can really move on it, but playing a pusher on clay is not a lot of fun, it is a lot harder to hit through players, so you have to wait for your shot before you pull the trigger. On hard court, most of the good guys on the club team a pulling the trigger in like two shots. There is a big difference in styles of play.

No, definitely would not recommend. You know how to make shots, big shot. This is just for the player content with percentage tennis. The guy who doesn't get excited when they hit a great winner or an ace. It's for that sort of person because even when you hit the ball which would otherwise have been a winner because it goes right where you wanted it to and when the other player is in the perfectly wrong position, they still can get to it because there's no weight to it. It's just like feeding balls to different parts of the court. Yeah, you can have superb accuracy, but you're just waiting for someone else's mistake and ONLY that. Think about the guys you probably played in the first to second rounds in tourneys as a junior, the guy who just irritates everyone because he's quick, and puts the ball back where you don't want it, but makes you lose the point instead of him win it? Yeah, he'd love it.

Alas, the time has come to try the gut you sent me earlier in the year. I plan to put it in the crosses with B5E mains. If I use 52/56 for my B5E/Thunder Blast tension, what would you recommend for B5E/gut. You sent me a pack of Performaxx and Unifibre. Thanks!

Just strung up a weighted up Prestige MP (stock 337g + 3g handle + 4g hoop, 98/18x20) with HT1.20/Co-Focus17 at 53/50lbs CP. I'm starting to think that it might be too low a tension for the racquet, but its too late now. The gut was pre-stretched by hand rather than using the electronic pre-stretch function on the machine. Normally I play with poly at 52-54lbs, typically Weiscannon Scorpion, B5E or BHBR.

^ Yes. Performaxx WhisperTouch HighTension 17L 1.20 Natural Gut. It has the following desciption on the seller's website:

PERFORMAXX High Tension 1.20mm (also available in 1.27mm & 1.32mm)Gauge:1.20mm Length: 2x20 ft Recommended tension range: 45 - 60 lbs
For very high power players as full sets or hybrids (excellent with poly).Normal Internet pricing $39.95
Our premium Natural Gut string is designed specifically for players with a "fast swing and high racket head velocity” game requiring high string tensions. A power and control balanced string designed for power players and balances control and power making programming difficult shots easy while providing the feel and great shock absorption required to minimize stress and strain on your body. Balanced for full court play for power players. You will be surprised to find that H-T can be strung at significantly lower tensions for better feel and durability while maintaining outstanding control and exceptional comfort. Great power, control, feel and comfort.

Not sure if its the same thing that PVA uses (probably not) as there's another version described simply as Whispertouch 1.20mm with the (different) description below. I chose the HT in preference over the normal string because I don't really like the idea of having a very soft string for the mains, and natural gut at 1.20mm is very thin for a main string, so I plumped for what might be a stiffer version of that that natural gut string without changing the gauge or the make.

This traditional premium firm Natural Gut string is designed specifically for players with a more powerful game requiring the feel and comfort of gut, without excessive power.

When paired with a modern player and racket, WT provides a softer, gut string-bed with good feel, touch, control, comfort and optimized power. Designed for players with a more powerful game, it is also enjoyed by a wide range of players including those with a power/spin game and those who prefer hybrid string sets. Keeping in mind that thinner gauges provide less durability, this is a surprisingly versatile string. Available in 1.20mm in both 20 & 40 foot lengths, coated or uncoated. Natural golden color.

Just pancaking a few balls up and down in my living room, the stringbed feels pretty powerful.....the ball bounces noticeably higher off a horizontal racquet face than Scorpion, B5E, BHBR or any other poly. Nice sound though - thock, thock, thock. Mmmmmm, I suspect this is going to be a powerful stringbed setup.....I should really have gone higher with the tensions but I'll see how it plays over the next couple of weeks.

Prestige MP with HT1.20/Co-Focus17 at 53/50lbs CP. I'm starting to think that it might be too low a tension for the racquet

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Well, I take it all back....

Just had a hit for about an hour. The tension isn't too low at all. In fact, the stringbed is actually quite stiff - crisp, but almost boardy, almost poly stiff, apart from on groundstrokes where the gut mains are doing most of the work.

Don't know what the stiffness rating of Co-Focus is, but I'd hazard a guess that its quite stiff. Will see how the strings play after they've had some more time to settle with a couple of weeks of hitting, when the poly's lost some tension.

I can't talk about the HT, but I had a similar experience with Performaxx Classic Touch 16g during the first hours. However, when the CT was broken in the power went up significantly, and the string became softer. Classic Touch is a good value gut, but if you live in the west coast, you might wait up to 11 days to get the strings in your mailbox.

^ Obviously a slightly different type of gut, and in a thinner gauge, but I didn't find the HT gut stiff at all on groundstrokes, though its not easiest to seperate the characteristics of each string in a hybrid. The stringbed stiffness will almost certainly be the Co-Focus.

^ Obviously a slightly different type of gut, and in a thinner gauge, but I didn't find the HT gut stiff at all on groundstrokes, though its not easiest to seperate the characteristics of each string in a hybrid. The stringbed stiffness will almost certainly be the Co-Focus.

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Funny, I just hit with my B5E/Thunder Blast combo today and I swear it seems slightly softer than B5E/Unifibre.

Just had a hit for about an hour. The tension isn't too low at all. In fact, the stringbed is actually quite stiff - crisp, but almost boardy, almost poly stiff, apart from on groundstrokes where the gut mains are doing most of the work.

Don't know what the stiffness rating of Co-Focus is, but I'd hazard a guess that its quite stiff. Will see how the strings play after they've had some more time to settle with a couple of weeks of hitting, when the poly's lost some tension.

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Trust me, it's the HT, not the CoFocus. CoFocus is not anywhere near a stiff poly.

No 1.20mm gauge natural gut at 53lbs is going to have any noticeable contribution to a stiff or boardy stringbed. Hit any top spin groundstroke and the softness of the gut in the stringbed comes to the fore. Flatten out the stroke and you feel more of a stiffer stringbed, so I suspect its the Co-Focus since it will be the stiffness of the crosses that are coming more into play.

Torres, you're hypothesizing against someone who a. has tried the HT versions of Performaxx strings and found them to be incredibly stiff. XHT is stiff to the point of being no better than a multifilament. It's why even with a modern game, the Touch line is the only one that I ever felt was worth using. I've stated this numerous times: HT is too stiff to be useful as natural gut. CoFocus, of which I own a reel of, is not a stiff poly. It's not. It's rather lively and fairly soft. That's the point of it. Trust me on this, I've been using Performaxx gut it seems longer than anyone else on this forum. I've tried them all, and have publicly stated that I do not like the HT or XHT because they feel very stiff. They don't feel like natural gut. Is CoFocus stiffer than HT? Of course it is; it's polyester vs. natural material. But as you know, the mains dominate the feel. So yes, you can use logic and numbers here, but trust me, it's the gut. CoFocus is about as far from a stiff poly as you can get, and HT is about as stiff as a natural gut as you can get.

Just had a hit for about an hour. The tension isn't too low at all. In fact, the stringbed is actually quite stiff - crisp, but almost boardy, almost poly stiff, apart from on groundstrokes where the gut mains are doing most of the work.

Don't know what the stiffness rating of Co-Focus is, but I'd hazard a guess that its quite stiff. Will see how the strings play after they've had some more time to settle with a couple of weeks of hitting, when the poly's lost some tension.

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I actually like the feel of gut mains/co focus crosses after the poly has lost some tension and mellowed out a bit more. It gives more pocketing and spin later on, with a softer feel.

Torres, you're hypothesizing against someone who a. has tried the HT versions of Performaxx strings and found them to be incredibly stiff. XHT is stiff to the point of being no better than a multifilament. It's why even with a modern game, the Touch line is the only one that I ever felt was worth using. I've stated this numerous times: HT is too stiff to be useful as natural gut. CoFocus, of which I own a reel of, is not a stiff poly. It's not. It's rather lively and fairly soft. That's the point of it. Trust me on this, I've been using Performaxx gut it seems longer than anyone else on this forum. I've tried them all, and have publicly stated that I do not like the HT or XHT because they feel very stiff. They don't feel like natural gut. Is CoFocus stiffer than HT? Of course it is; it's polyester vs. natural material. But as you know, the mains dominate the feel. So yes, you can use logic and numbers here, but trust me, it's the gut. CoFocus is about as far from a stiff poly as you can get, and HT is about as stiff as a natural gut as you can get.

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Naaaaah, its the Co-Focus that's primarily contributing to the stringbed stiffness. It's not the HT gut - that's pillow soft in comparison to the Co-Focus.

As TaihtDuhShaat has pointed out, it should feel better once its lost some tension.